This invention pertains generally to fuzes for projectiles and more particularly to a fuze for an artillery or mortar projectile with an explosive or expulsion charge, the fuze capable of providing a time delay before activating the explosive or expulsion projectile.
As is known in the art, it is often necessary to delay detonation of a projectile with an explosive or expulsion charge after firing. In a changing battlefield, it is necessary to change the length of the delay quickly and easily. Known time delay fuzes include making a portion of the electronic control circuit available to the user so that a particular wire or other connecting device may be broken to set the predetermined time delay. Additionally, encoder rings have been used, wherein the encoder rings are rotated, setting a predetermined time delay for the fuze. A projectile with an explosive or expulsion charge requiring a time delay before activation could be adapted to provide quick and easy setting of the time delay by a user in a stressful environment. Thus, it is desirable to provide a fuze having a multiple of discrete timing settings which can be easily selected by the user, while minimizing the number of components in the fuze. Additionally, since the fuze is expendable, the fuze should be constructed inexpensively, yet be durable enough to withstand the influence of the dynamic forces that are exerted upon the fuze when being projected by a launcher.